A lot of families wonder what therapy sessions look like for children in the earlier stages of development.
And honestly, for children working within the lower FEDCs, sessions can look very simple from the outside. There may not always be obvious “tasks”, structured activities, or verbal conversations happening. But within those small moments, incredibly important developmental foundations are being built.
For children working on FEDCs 1–3, we are focusing on capacities like regulation, shared attention, engagement, circles of communication, and intentional interaction. Before a child can move into more complex communication, problem solving, or symbolic play, they first need to feel safe, connected, regulated, and emotionally engaged with another person.
A recent kindergarten session reminded me exactly why these early foundations matter so much.
I currently support a non-speaking three-year-old who has grown in leaps and bounds since beginning his DIRFloortime® sessions in August last year. As he is still new to his kindergarten environment, one of my biggest focuses right now is helping him feel safe, confident, and connected within his new learning space.
When I arrived at kindergarten that day, I came prepared with familiar materials linked to his interests. But my real plan was to follow his lead and support him in exploring the toys and play opportunities already available in his room. For many children in the lower FEDCs, learning how to interact with their environment, manipulate toys meaningfully, and feel confident exploring new spaces is already significant developmental work.
When I entered the room, he was deeply engaged in solo mulch play at the tuff tray. Instead of interrupting or redirecting him, I joined his play by copying his actions and adding small playful ideas. I sprinkled mulch over a dinosaur and said, “rain”. He paused, looked toward my play, and then copied the action himself.
That moment may seem small, but it was actually rich with shared attention, imitation, and emerging engagement.
A little later, real rain started outside. I pointed toward it, and he followed my gesture to look behind him before happily walking into the rain with his hands raised in excitement. Again, this was more than just enjoying rain — it was shared experience, joint attention, sensory engagement, and connection.
The session then naturally flowed into water play indoors with babies, bubbles, and washers alongside peers. He remained deeply engaged for a long period of time, laughing more frequently than I had seen before and increasingly seeking me out within the interaction. At several points into play, he intentionally grabbed my hands to help scoop bubbles with him and pulled my arm back when I playfully teased the bubbles away.
These are the moments we celebrate in DIRFloortime®.
For some children, communication does not initially look like words. It might look like shared smiles, pulling someone closer, copying actions, vocalising during play, or seeking another person back into interaction. During the session, he vocalised repeatedly with sounds like “bababa” and “vavavava” while I modelled simple words such as “bubbles” alongside the experience.
There was also a moment where he became upset when I briefly stepped away to look for his water bottle after noticing he had hiccups. But importantly, he was able to co-regulate once I returned. He accepted comfort, allowed me to pick him up, and then calmly helped search for the drink bottles together before returning to play settled and regulated.
For me, that moment spoke volumes about the growth in trust, connection, and relational safety that has developed over time.
To an outsider, the session may have looked like “just playing with mulch, rain, and bubbles”. But underneath, we were supporting regulation, engagement, imitation, sensory processing, communication, emotional connection, and confidence within a new environment.
That is often what DIRFloortime® looks like for children in the lower FEDCs.
It’s not about pushing children into performance before the foundations are there. It’s about meeting them where they are developmentally, building connection first, and helping them feel safe enough to engage with the world, their environment, and the people around them.
And often, the biggest progress begins in these seemingly small, beautifully human moments.
